Anti-pollution barge and conveyer assembly

ABSTRACT

A conveyer arrangement adapted to be used onto a barge or similar boat in combination therewith and including two superjacent endless-belt conveyers arranged to cooperatively pick up a floating pollutant, such as oil, and to convey the same upwardly between adjacent runs of the respective conveyers which are driven at substantially the same linear speed. Transverse ribs are secured to the top endless-belt conveyer and extend therefrom into liquid-tight edgewise engagement with the top run of the bottom endless belt in cooperation with longitudinally extending flexible wings arranged to laterally confine the picked-up pollutant and water during upward displacement thereof intermediate the two adjacent runs. The conveyers are pivoted onto the bow and the barge is provided with water ballast tanks to adjust the dipping depth of the outer end of the conveyers.

O United States Patent 1m l l 3,762,558 Anderson I Oct. 2, 1973 l l ANTI-POLLUTION BARGE AND CONVEYER Primary ExaminerSamih N. Zaharna ASSEMBLY Assistant ExaminerT. A. Granger [76] Inventor: Joseph Axel Anderson,5155 Langelier mmmey plerre Lesperance Boulevard, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Sept 1971 A conveyer arrangement adapted to be used onto a {21] Appl. No.: 185,175 barge or similar boat in combination therewith and including two superjacent endless-belt conveyers arranged to cooperatively pick up a floating pollutant, [52] Cl 210/242 d ig g g'l such as oil, and to convey the same upwardly between H 1 t E02) 15/04 Bold 43/00 adjacent runs of the respective conveyers which are 58 'l 210/542 83 523 driven at substantially the same linear speed. Transl 0 2] 4 5 verse ribs are secured to the top endless-belt conveyer and extend therefrom into liquid-tight edgewise cngagement with the top run of the bottom endless belt [56] References cued in cooperation with longitudinally extending flexible UNITED STATES PATENTS wings arranged to laterally confine the picked-up pol- 3,6l3,891 10/1971 Cloutler 210/242 lutant and water during upward displacement thereof 3,314,545 4ll967 Grabbe et film 210/242 intermediate the two adjacent runs. The conveyers are 3,608,727 9/1971 Grutsch l 210/242 pivoted onto the bow and the barge is provided with sm g g water ballast tanks to adjust the dipping depth of the }3l4"540 2l/0/24'2 x outer end of the conveyers.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENIEDBU 2W5 3.762.558

sum 10? 2 Pmmium'zms SHEET 2 [IF 2 ANTI-POLLUTION BARGE AND CONVEYER ASSEMBLY This invention relates to the removal of pollutants floating on a body of water and, more particularly, to an anti-pollution conveyer arrangement adapted to be used in combination with a barge or the like boat, and to such combination of the conveyer arrangement with a barge arranged to remove floating pollutants from a body of water.

There has before now been proposed to use a single endless-belt conveyer mounted onto a boat or barge to remove liquid and solid pollutants, such as oil and solid debris, surfacing onto a body of waters, such as a lake, river, ocean, etc. However, a single conveyer essentially depends on its ability to cause adherence of oil or the like thereto. It has been found by experiment that, although materials exist that allow substantial adherence of oil thereto, a single endless belt is not effective, at least as so far proposed.

The present invention relies on a different principle which consists of upwardly conveying the oil or solid floating pollutant by interengagement of essentially two superjacent conveyers.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a conveyer arrangement which effectively picks up pollutants, such as oil or the like, floating on a body of water.

It is another object of the invention to provide a barge and a conveyer combination adapted to form an anti-pollution assembly.

It is another object of the invention to provide a conveyer arrangement having buckets or pockets adapted to pick up oil or the like pollutant without substantially disturbing nor repulsing the surrounding pollutant around one end of the conveyer arrangement which is dipping into a body of water on which the pollutant floats.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a conveyer arrangement including two superjacent endless-belt conveyers wherein the bottom conveyer has a smooth outer surface in order to avoid theabove disturbance and repulsion of the surrounding pollutant and the top conveyer includes pocket forming means fixed thereto for conveying the picked up pollutant up.- wardly intermediate both endless belts.

It is another specific object of the invention to provide the supporting barge'with water ballast tanks to adjust the dippingdepth of one end of the conveyer arrangement.

Further objects and advantages. of the invention will become apparent in the light of the following detailed description defining'a preferred embodiment which is illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, partly in cross-section along line l-l of FIG. 2, of a barge and conveyer assembly according to the present invention;

PK). 2 is a top plan view as seen from above in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view as seen along line 33 in FIG. 2.

As shown in the drawings, the anti-pollution assem bly includes a barge l, of any appropriate type, having a conveyer arrangement 2 mounted on the bow thereof and arranged for dipping one end into a body of water 3 onto which a pollutant, such as oil 3', is floating. Ob-

viously, various types of boats may be used to support the conveyer arrangement and the term barge is meant to extend to all those types of boat.

An open top tank 4 is provided into the hull of the barge l forthe discharge of the conveyer arrangement 2 therein. The water also discharged by the conveyer arrangement 2 rests to the bottom of the tank 4 and is pumped out thereof.

An oil or the like pollutant collecting tank 5 is positioned adjacent the tank 4 and arranged to receive the surfacing layer of pollutant which flows over the edge 6 of the tank 4. The oil, generally of the crude and heavy type, is pumped out of the collecting tank 5 with previous heating thereof, if required to increase its fluidity. The pumped oil is then transferred either directly to shore, if feasible, or into a standing by tanker, not shown. Buoyancy chambers 7 are provided laterally of the tank 4 to enhance floatation of the barge l. A machinery compartment 8 is provided at the rear of the tanks 4 and 5. Water ballast tanks 9 are provided at the ends of the barge to control the relative depth of the barge and of the end of the conveyer arrangement dipping into the body of water 3. Control cabins l0 and 1 l are mounted onto the barge and arranged for the control of the latter therefrom.

The conveyer arrangement 2 includes a pair of superjacent endless-belt conveyers each having a pair of longitudinal beams 12 arranged in spaced-apart parallel relationship and arranged to rotatably support rollers 13 and 14 at opposite ends thereof. The bottom endless-belt conveyer has an imperforate flexible endless belt 15 wrapped around the supporting rollers 14 for rotation therewith. The top imperforate flexible endless-belt conveyer has an endless belt 16 wrapped around the supporting rollers 13 for rotation therewith. The top run of the endless belt 15 and the bottom run of the endless belt 16 are retained in parallel spacedapart travelling relationship by sets of idler rollers 17 and 18 respectively. The endless belt 15 of the bottom conveyer is formed with a smooth outer surface, such that, upon travelling of the endless belt 15, minimum disturbance is made at the surface of the body of water 3 by the clipping end of the conveyer arrangement 2 and there results substantially no repulsion of the surrounding floating pollutant, at the nip defined by the merging endless belts l5 and 16 travelling together in unison in the directions of the arrows 19. The floating pollutant is then allowed to enter into the above nip to be picked up by the pockets or buckets, hereinafter described in detail. The. belt 15 may preferably, although not necessary, be covered with a layer ofburlap or otheroil-adhering material. The cooperating adjacent bottom and top runs of the top and bottom conveyers form substantially flat surfaces-both longitudinally and transversely of said runs. The endless belt 16 is formed with pocket-forming vanes or ribs 20 integrally formed therewith and extending transversely thereof. Longitudinal wing portions 21 are formed integral with the vanes 20 and extend longitudinally of the endless belts at opposite ends The latter, the vanes 20 and wing'portions 21 are madeul" of flexiblematerial, such as rubber, and thence the wing portions 21 are allowed to flex around the end rollers 13. The latter are selected larger than the rollers 14 precisely to facilitate such ,flexing.

In order to effectively pick up the oil or similar pollutant, both endless belts l and 16 must travel at the same linear speed, whereby there is no relative displacement between the interengagin'gruns of the two belts.

Each endless belt 15 and 16 has a link chain 22 fixed thereto along each lateral edge thereof. Sprockets,not shown, are coaxially mounted at each end of each end roller 13 or 14 and is arranged for rotation therewith and to drive the link chains 22. A motor 23, of any suitable type, is mounted into a hull compartment into the bow of the barge 1 and is connected by a sprocket and link chain mechanism 24 to the bottom conveyer to gles'rof the conveyer arrangement about that axis. A

pair of hydrauliccylinders '28are connected to the longitudinal beams l2'of the bottomconveyer and araxis and'thence, the dipping height thereof. -1 .Four hydraulic cylinders 29 are connected between thebeams 12 of the bottomand top conveyers and arranged in pairs on opposite sides,v to elevate the top conveyer relative to thebottom conveyer, to separate the bottom run of the former-from engagement with the top run; of the; latter, when floatingsolid debris are encountered and desired to be conveyed upwardly to the ranged to vary the angle of the latter about the above tank. 4. In. this case only the bottom conveyor is opera-' tive.., my

' Upright deflectors 30 are. 'angularly attached to the dipping end 'of theconveyer arrangement 2 to converge the floating pollutant towards the nip defined by the x merging of the endless .beltsat that dipping end;

. it"should be appreciated that the formo f the pockets may vary without'departingfrorn the spiritand 'scope,

4 of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, the ribs or vanes 20 and the wing portions 21 may be separate components secured to the endless belt 16 rather than integral therewith. Further, the elements 20 and 21 can be of curvilinear plan shape and the ribs or vanes 20 can be shorter such as to have more than one row of pockets longitudinally of the belts.

' I claim: i v

1. An apparatus for removing oil and other solid debris floating on water,comprising, in combination, a

bottom conveyer means constructed and arranged to be supported onto the bow of a barge to protrude downwardly and forwardly thcrefrom,a top conveyor means mounted superjacent to said bottom conveyor means and in cooperation therewith, said top. and bottom conveyor meanseach including an imperforate flexible endless belt, the adjacent runs of said top and bottom conveyor belts being flat surfaces longitudinally and transversely of said belts, pocket forming means fixed to said top conveyor belt to travel therewith and arranged to operatively engage the outer surface of the bottom conveyor belt, drive means to drive said bottom andtop conveyor belts at equal linear speeds, with the adjacent runs moving in the'same direction from'the water intof said barge,. said pocket forming rneans'ink eluding longitudinally spaced vanes,extending1transverse'ly of the top conveyor belt and wings merging with and extending from each end of the respective vanes longitudinally of said top conveyor belt, said vanes and wingsprotrudingfrom the outer surface of the top con veyor" belt and having a substantially uniform depth forminga continuous straight edge'for liquid-tight contact with theouter surface of the top run of the bottom conveyor belt to forma series of liquid retaining 'pock QlSM" 2. An apparatus as 'claimedin'claim 1 wherein said wings terminate short of an adjacent transversevane and are made of flexible material.to'flexlongitudinally' and follow the travel and longitudinal bendingof the top'conveyor belt..

. I v t 3. An apparatus as claimedfin claim 1-, wherein each conveyor means includes aqframe for mounting the conveyor belt, extensible ;means interconnecting-ithe I respective frames, and power means to extend said ex-,

tensible means to move the'bottom run-of saidtop-conveyor belt away from the'top run of said botto'm conveyor .belt to allowwuse of said bottomconveyor belt only'for the collection ofsolid debris.

Is a o y: 

1. An apparatus for removing oil and other solid debris floating on water, comprising, in combination, a bottom conveyer means constructed and arranged to be supported onto the bow of a barge to protrude downwardly and forwardly therefrom, a top conveyor means mounted superjacent to said bottom conveyor means and in cooperation therewith, said top and bottom conveyor means each including an imperforate flexible endless belt, the adjacent runs of said top and bottom conveyor belts being flat surfaces longitudinally and transversely of said belts, pocket forming means fixed to said top conveyor belt to travel therewith and arranged to operatively engage the outer surface of the bottom conveyor belt, drive means to drive said bottom and top conveyor belts at equal linear speeds, with the adjacent runs moving in the same direction from the water into said barge, said pocket forming means including longitudinally spaced vanes extending transversely of the top cOnveyor belt and wings merging with and extending from each end of the respective vanes longitudinally of said top conveyor belt, said vanes and wings protruding from the outer surface of the top conveyor belt and having a substantially uniform depth forming a continuous straight edge for liquid-tight contact with the outer surface of the top run of the bottom conveyor belt to form a series of liquid retaining pockets.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wings terminate short of an adjacent transverse vane and are made of flexible material to flex longitudinally and follow the travel and longitudinal bending of the top conveyor belt.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each conveyor means includes a frame for mounting the conveyor belt, extensible means interconnecting the respective frames, and power means to extend said extensible means to move the bottom run of said top conveyor belt away from the top run of said bottom conveyor belt to allow use of said bottom conveyor belt only for the collection of solid debris. 